Tsunamis are series of gigantic waves caused by earthquakes. When an earthquake happens the energy created travels to the surface of the water and a huge wave forms due to the pressure. The size of the wave depends on the depth of the water, the force of the earthquake, and the wind. Then the wave, called a tsunami, cleaves into two waves. One of the waves moves away from the closest shore and moves into deeper water. The other wave, or tsunami, moves towards the nearest shore at speeds of 360 to 480 miles per hour. The force of the tsunami can force other waves to go toward the shore with it. Tsunamis travel faster over deep-ocean water. Tsunamis can only happen in ocean water. When tsunamis reach the coast they can travel inland at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. However, tsunamis will continue to slow down dramatically on shallow water or land. Waves can reach up to the height of 100 feet at this point of the disaster.
Tsunamis can be very disastrous and cause devastation across thousands of miles. Like walls of water, tsunamis can demolish miles of land in a just a few minutes.
For example, in December 2004, tsunamis devastated much of southeastern Asia. Generated from a 9.0 magnitude earthquake of the Indonesian island Sumatra’s coast, tsunamis demolished coasts and killed thousands in, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka.
In this disaster, tsunamis ravished across the Bay of Bengal to wreak havoc in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
To help prevent such disasters from happening again, we must be able to predict such disasters and notify those who may be in harms way. After a disaster such as this, we can send necessary resources to the victims of this bad fortune. I ask you all to reflect on this disaster and try to help prevent it in the future.